Part of 11 Tracks Of Whack does as well - not all of it - but some of it does. I think it was Becker & Fagen's modus operandi at the time. Cheers, Paul
See - I don't think so. Sure - Becker & Fagen called the shots - but there's a definite difference between the Katz albums and all the rest. Even the one Fagen solo album Katz produced sounds pretty different from the other three. And - I think Katz is the reason Gaucho is grouped with the classic albums - and not the Giant/Warner era, if you will. But that's a story that we'll hold until 2 Against Nature. Cheers, Paul
Oh - I just meant that Kamakiriad and 11 Tracks Of Whack sometimes sound like they were recorded in home studios. Nothing about the performance or song-writing - just the raw sonics of the tracks. Cheers, Paul
Hence me mentioning they sound like demos "production wise " though I don't know if Becker's studio was state of the art. Sure don't sound like it.
I've entertained the thought that all three of them - Becker, Fagen & Dias - might be the "chimps". If we see this song as a conversation during the recording of Katy between Becker and Fagen, discussing the fate of the band at a café, then the line "including yours and mine and one more chimp who isn't here" could mean that all three of the current band members are chimps. I'm thinking he might be comparing their current recording and band situation as if they were like the old wind-up toys - banging their cymbals for the record label executives. Not a definite thought - but something that tickles my fancy, I suppose. Cheers, Paul
Wow. A great observation on your part. I am starting to feel like a grammar school student in this thread with posts like this. This has to be the most insightful post on the entire thread so far.
I just checked, and it's not in the biog book, but he wrote a track-by-track book guide in the 'Complete Guide To The Music Of…' series from the mid-90s, and he confirms it in the entry for 'Bad Sneakers'. My copy is buried in a box under the stairs, so can't transcribe right now, alas.
Yeah, I was aware of DF's explanation, and that machine could certainly keep time, it just sounds so bloody lifeless and unimaginative - it's mostly on the beat, even an average drummer could have done the job. Why oh why use it over the course of TWO albums... Must have been a case of how they could push technology at the time, if nothing else. And it apparently cost an arm and a leg. I would certainly take it as an insult as a drummer.
My first post in this fine thread... Since Walter's death (RIP Walter) I have listened to a lot of Steely Dan both CD and original vinyl. I have always loved the Dan and one of my biggest musical regrets is that we had tickets to see them play Sheffield City Hall in 1973/ 4 not quite sure of the exact date however, the show had to be cancelled due to Fagan being ill. So been a fan of their music for a long time and it has been interesting to do a personal retrospective of their music via this thread and this brilliant album [The Royal School] IMO is one if not the best of the bunch imo. PS, Stuart 'Dinky' Dawson is from my home town Rotherham South Yorkshire and I use to attend a Disco/ Club 'The Pendulum" that he DJ'd at with his two friends Arthur and Dave back in the day. Anyone know what he might be doing these days?
First of all, what a great thread! I don't have as much to contribute as all the other amazing contributors (since my Steely Dan history is much shorter), but anyway here is the story so far... In 2003 I was in my local library (music DVD section) looking for something to borrow. I happened to come across Steely Dan's plush tv jazz-rock party dvd. I had heard of the name Steely Dan previously, but I had no idea what kind of music it was. So, for some reason (I really don't know exactly what the reason was) I took a chance. Put on the DVD and the first song Green Earrings. Whoa! What is this!? Amazing! Great drum sound! Of course after that and digging deeper into the Steely Dan catalogue of albums there were plenty more great songs and sounds to be discovered. So that's how it started for me and since then Steely Dan has been one of my favourite bands. Which finally brings us to the topic at hand (the Royal Scam album). I've been following this thread and listening to all the albums at the same time. Now, listening to the great playing by Purdie and Rainey on this album, I remembered that some years ago I stumbled across some files on the Internet. These were music files from games such as Rock Band and Guitar Hero where you can listen to instruments separately. I remembered that Kid Chalrlemagne was one of those songs. These days these Rock Band tracks are pretty much all over Youtube, so I decided to go to Youtube and listen to the separate instruments on Kid Charlemagne, except I couldn't find them. So, I hope it is ok to share the files? I will delete the links immediately, if it is not ok. If you open the files in Audacity, you can listen to the whole mix or solo and mute instruments, which I think is so much fun. Listening to only Purdie and Rainey play is just amazing. And then there is the guitar solo too. Of course we all know that the albums are so well mixed, that you can hear every little detail just by listening to the full mix. But I think these files give just a little bit more definition. Here are the files: Kick drum TinyUpload.com - best file hosting solution, with no limits, totaly free Snare drum (sort of) TinyUpload.com - best file hosting solution, with no limits, totaly free Overheads TinyUpload.com - best file hosting solution, with no limits, totaly free Guitars TinyUpload.com - best file hosting solution, with no limits, totaly free Bass TinyUpload.com - best file hosting solution, with no limits, totaly free Vocals, keys and guitar TinyUpload.com - best file hosting solution, with no limits, totaly free
Kamakiriad doesn't sound like demos to me, even though I believe they used Fagen's piano/drum machine demos as the basis for some of the album tracks. Believe it or not, it is apparently actual live human drummers on all eight tracks of the album, but they manipulated the drum tracks in WENDEL so much that they sound like programmed drums. The sequenced bass parts they used on some of the tunes like "Springtime" don't help, either. Kamakiriad may have been released in 1993 but it sounds like 1987... As for 11 Tracks Of Whack, well, I've stated in other Dan discussions that I couldn't stand the album, mainly due to the unpolished, demo like feel of some of the songs- "It sounds like Becker farting around on a four track" is how I think I put it. No offense, Walter. Now, it's one thing for an amateur like myself to fart around on a four track, but I expect more from somebody like Becker. I don't even own the album, though I suppose I'd better give it a fresh listen for the purposes of this discussion once we get to that point in time. I got the CD out of the library, listened to it once (actually, I can't remember if I even listened to the whole thing) and that was that. But I digress...let's move the conversation back to the 70's, whaddya say? In the Sweet bio it is mentioned how Becker and Fagen felt that, after Aja, they were holding Dias under 'false pretenses'- considering him a member of the "band" when starting with Katy Lied he was really just another session guitarist they used. Even though they intended to pay him more than any other musician they planned on using for their proposed, aborted Aja tour in 1977. I rate side one highly, but we'll get to that soon enough Thanks, we like it!
This was always my interpretation. "little black book". It does have me second guessing myself a bit. Striking the red words... In most New testaments when Jesus is quoted, its in red letters. I love this kind of puzzling interpretation.
This post is spot on in many ways. No one has really mentioned how polarizing this band has been. I have been mystified by the reactions of many a music fan to SD. I am sure I'm not the only one who has heard the SD disdain from "rock" fans.
Apart from the familiar songs ("hits"), Green Earrings and The Fez got me into Steely Dan. In 1992 Ice Cube released The Predator, it included a song (Don't Trust 'Em) that sampled Green Earrings and that got me to buy The Royal Scam. And as Funk is one of my favourite genres I liked Green Earrings and The Fez right away. I wasn't even really listen to the lyrics (also I'm Dutch, English is a second language), but the groove got me first. The other albums and the lyrics came later. But The Royal Scam will always be my favourite album by them. Hell, it is even one of my favourite albums ever. This thread and the death of Walter made me re-listen the classic 7 and I found quite a few tracks I like a lot more now. Steely Dan already was one of my favourite bands, but this thread confirms it even more.
Well, I know this: over the last two weeks, weekends aside I've mainly been plugging away on this thread during my downtime at work. As a result, our hotel security guard has been on the receiving end of a few Steely Dan rants from me- I've told him most of the classic stories and legends: the endless perfectionism, the musical chairs played with session musicians in the studio, the immense musicality of the songs and the biting wit of the lyrics etc. It should be mentioned that our security guard is not a music guy at all (I'll forgive him for that...hey, I don't know diddley squat about video games which is really his forte) but I think by now I've got his curiosity piqued enough that on Thursday he actually asked me, "Well, if you were to recommend one of Steely Dan's albums to someone, which would it be?" After careful consideration, I gave him my answer: The Royal Scam. We'll see if he actually bites or not...
